INTERACTIVE FAITH IN THE DIGITAL WORLD: ESSENTIAL FOR

THE AFRICAN CHURCH

IBIYEMI AKINWALE VICTOR
INTRODUCTION: ENCOUNTERING THE NEW AGE
At the dawn of a new era, a vast expansion of human
communications is profoundly influencing culture everywhere.
Revolutionary technological changes are only part of what is
happening. Nowhere today are people untouched by the impact
of media upon religious and moral attitudes, political and social
systems and education.1
The Christian message has lived through plethora of civilisations,
cultures, traditions, languages and peoples. In these ages, the Christian
faith has survived different attacks, persecutions and challenges. The
apostles of these message have been killed, battered and maimed but the
message has survived, as many of its apostles are murdered, in such
great way, many are been born into the message through conversion and
acceptance. The prophecy of the Pharisee, Gamaliel, became true: for if
this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail; but if it of God, you will
not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God. 2
Truly, the Christian message is of God and nothing shall prevail against it.
More pressing about the Christian message is its interaction with the
different cultures and civilizations it has endured all through the ages.
This becomes more interesting knowing that this message, as it were,
must be a response to mans insatiable searches and situations especially
as regards the revelation of God in the world. Ordinarily, if the Christian
message had been a human evolution, it would have faded away, what we
see is the contrary, even in the midst of persecutions, this message
wiggles its way out to light. In its interactions with different civilisations
and ages, another marvel about the faith is its relevancy and newness to
every age. The faith is new every morning as it address all human
1 Pastoral Instruction, Aetatis Novae- On Social Communications on the Twentieth
Anniversary of Communion et Progression, (Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana,
February 1992 ), no. 1
2 Acts of the Apostles, 5:38

aspirations

even

in

modern

times.

This

again,

corroborates

the

authenticity of the faith.

Thus, retaining its originality and contents, the Christian message and
faith is communicated through various media as it appeals to the
civilization of that society. In this dispensation, our contemporary time,
the Christian message has encountered a new age, the age of
radicalizations. This age has a peculiar aversion for Christianity and its
message, indeed for anything religious. Building on the repulsive
reactions of enlightenment and modernism, the Christian faith suffers
attacks more than ever. The suspicion and question therefore is how
certain can the faith be communicated in such a rebellious era as this? Is
it possible to use the portals of this age to communicate the Christian
faith ever better to the peoples of this era? How interactive can the faith
be through the digitalisations of this era? These quests are the foci of this
essay just has they have become recent discussions even in the Vatican,
that is, a search for the possibility of speaking ever better the Christian
reality via the digital innovations of the contemporary world. Indeed, if
we are to be faithful to our missionary mandate, we must definitely reach
out and encounter the new age.3
THE FAITH INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE IN THIS MODERN SOCIETY
Just like every growth in civilization and the complexity of the society, the
Christian faith has not remained in its infantile evolvements. It has
developed, expanded and broadened too in its address of mans
situations and difficulties. The faith in its cradle might have been
essentially a rigid catechesis- based instruction, a kind of monologue
method of imparting knowledge- instructions are taught to people who
listened, then applied to their lives. Evidences of these are contained in
documents that existed in the early Church, whereby the pastor only
taught the people in homilies and other catechetical institutions.

3 Bishop Emmanuel Badejo, Stand up and be counted- The Church in Nigeria and the
Digital Age Today a keynote address in Golden Jubilee Colloquium of The Voice
Magazine (Ibadan: Simplicity Touch, 2011), p. 12

However, in our age, the faith has gone beyond a monologue, it has
metamorphosed into an interactive dialogue. The Christian faith is a
communication. A communication that has two ends, that comes from a
source to an end which is to produce required results in the lives of those
who have listened. That level of interaction has even be heightened by
the level of education and sophistication of the audience. Indeed our
world has become a complex association of peoples who communicate
sophisticatedly every day in everything they do. In that society, the
Christian faith has left the terrains of ordinary instructions, it has left the
plains of the recitation of stringent rules and codes. It is a total
engagement of the human person, his rationality and appetites.
The Christian faith cannot thrive successful just on a weekly receptionspractically only on Sundays. The audience is presented with varied
distractive options of life every day, every hour and every minute
especially in the large sophistications of technology, the digital and media
world. Hence, the Christian faith must always be present at all times to
interact with the decisions Christians make in their daily duties. The
more reason why the frontiers of the Christian faith and message be
broadened.

THE

UNIVERSALISED

DIGITAL

RADICALIZATION

AND

THE

NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE
The digitalization of the universe happened suddenly even though
technological advancements were ongoing before it sudden appearance.
In the 43rd World Communications Day message of 2009 from the
Vatican, the Pope Emeritus, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the realities of
the digital age. He entitled the message: New Technologies, new
Relationships, Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship.
In that address, the Pope Emeritus emphasised, the characteristics of the
new technology. He stated that the accessibility of mobile telephones
and computers, combined with the global reach and penetration of the
internet, has opened up a range of means of communication that permit
3

the almost instantaneous communications of words and images across

enormous distances and to some of the most isolated corners of the
world; something that would never have been unthinkable for previous
generations.4
This fact has produced a digital generation and a digital continent of
people who are at home with the new technologies and adopt them as a
matter of fact in their everyday lives. This digital culture and generation,
thanks be to God, has not eluded Africa and particularly Nigeria like the
Absolute Spirit did in Hegels philosophy!
Rarely are the homes where DSTV decoders and cables are not found,
even in houses with thatched roofs, they always look for a way to hang
the dish and enjoy the visual displays in the huts. Televisions of various
inches are found everywhere, video cassettes and DVD players are found
everywhere too. Even in the Church, the presence of these gadgets are
found more. Some Pentecostal churches have already excessively began
the use of this gadgets, the walls behind their sanctuaries perform dual
functions 1) for worship and 2) and for receiving them beams cast from
their projectors.5
Willingly or unwillingly, we are all part of that digital culture though in
different categories. There are those who belong to the digital culture a
natives. The natives will include all those who are born in this new age
and to whom there is no strangeness as regards the use of these
technological innovations. The second category are those who are
immigrants to the digital culture, who were born in the yesteryears and
who are finding their way into the new culture. The third category
habours missionaries of this new digital world and that category is
better understood in our setting. We should not forget too of those who
are foreigners - they are very strange to this culture, they are aloof and,

4 Pope Benedict XVI, New Technologies, New Relationships, Promoting a Culture of

Respect, Dialogue and Friendship (Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2009)
5 Victor Ibiyemi, Media and Evangelisation in Nigeria: 50 years after Inter Mirifica in
Fifty Years After Vatican II, Challenges, Faith and Culture, NACATHS Journal Vol. 23,
March 2013 (Nigeria: NACATHS, 2013), p. 31

they are not integrated, and they are not even interested. It is obvious
that they would not participate also in its riches and blessings.
What has been said so far about the digital culture is positive. However,
being managed by human beings, the possibility of its negative
engagement is also there and the Pope in that same message cautioned
that: if the new technologies are to serve the good of individuals and of
society, all users will avoid sharing of words and images that are
degrading of human beings, that promote hatred and intolerance, that
debase the goodness and intimacy of human sexuality or that exploit the
weak and vulnerable.6 He also warned that the digital culture must not
create a divide between those who have access to it and those who dont,
that will reinforce the classism already in the society. Furthermore, the
media and other digital innovations must not separate us from our
families, neighbours and friends that we see every day.
THE FAITH BEYOND THE PULPITS: NEW FRONTIERS FOR
AUTHENTIC FAITH EXPERIENCE
This digital revolution has opened, if you like, a new space for
evangelization and catechesis. There is a new geographical frontier to
explore- a new world to evangelize. There is now a vivid opportunity to
go beyond the pulpits into the daily lives of the people. Or more
succinctly, to carry the pulpits wherever we go! Our faith communication
which is a prerogative of our Christian vocation has found new groundbreaking exercise- and this we must do!
The INTERNET is a concrete exemplification of the merits of the digital
revolution. Take a pulse and reflect on the sociology of the internet. The
internet is a community that is both real and viable. How best do you
define a society? Is it not a collection of people who interact and have
things in common sharing values and opinions? With this digital turnover, the cyberspace has worn the status of a living society. Ideally,
everything that is needed is seen on the internet and if you have the
6 Pope Benedict XVI, New Technologies, New Relationships, Promoting a Culture of
Respect, Dialogue and Friendship (Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2009)

means, you will get all you need. Have you ever imagine the quality of
time people, especially the youths, spend on the internet- surfing,
browsing and chatting? The more reason, Benedict XVI acclaimed that,
the internet must become the New Areopagus where the wisdom as
Christ, the Son of God is taught. Qualifying the internet better, the Pope
Emeritus says the internet and social networking are: portals of truth
and new spaces for evangelization.7
Just like there is need for every geographical space to be evangelised,
there is also great need for this digital culture and space- the internet to
be evangelised. The faith must be communicated in these places too.
Little

wonder,

Bishop

Emmanuel

Badejo-

an

apostle

of

social

communications evangelisation has suggested a digital Pentecost in

the face of the digital culture.
Social networks must be gateways of truth and faith. We have a host of
them:

BBM

(Blackberry

Messenger,

yahoo

messenger,

windows

messenger, Goggle talk, iSkoot, Skype, Viigo, Parlingo, Whatsapps,

Twitter, Badoo, Myspace, Tagged, Nimbuzz, Netlog, Flickr, Snaptu,
Facebook,

Eskimi

transformation

of

and
a

the

digital

popular

2go.

Pentecost

All

must

these

under

participate

the

too

in

communicating the Christian Faith which must be preached to the ends

of the earth.
Correspondingly, the Catholic presence is highly needed on the TV
stations, the DSTV and its likes. They all must all work together unto
good! The document on Social Communications in the Vatican II
documents- Inter- Mirifica understands the values and the havocs
inherent in all of these digital and media products of mans genius if they
are misused and so the document warns that: The Church must employ
the media for the single task of the Church, that is, to announce the
Gospel of her Lord. The Media must be for the teaching of sound morals
7 Benedict XVI, Message for World Communication Day 2010, Priest and Pastoral
Agents in the Digital World quoted in Victor Ibiyemi, Media and Evangelisation in
Nigeria: 50 years after Inter Mirifica in Fifty Years After Vatican II, Challenges, Faith
and Culture, NACATHS Journal Vol. 23, March 2013, p. 36

and doctrines. Blessed Pope John Paul II summaries the need for a
digital Pentecost when he avows in his message on the Worlds
Communication Day 1990 below:
As the Council Fathers looked up to the future and tried to
discern the context in which the Church would be called upon to
carry out her mission, they could clearly see that the progress of
technology was already transforming the earth and even
reaching out to conquer space. They recognized that
developments in communications technology, in particular, were
likely to set off chain reactions with unforeseen consequences.
Far from suggesting that the Church should stand aloof or try to
isolate herself from the mainstream of these events, the Council
Fathers saw the Church as being in the very midst of human
progress, sharing experiences of the rest of humanity, seeking to
understand them and to interpret them in the light of faith. It
was for Gods faithful people to make creative use of the new
discoveries and technologies for the world employing the full
potential of the computer age to serve the human and
transcendent vocation of every person, and thus to give glory to
the Father from whom all good things come.8

THE PARTICIPATION OF THE AFRICAN (NIGERIAN) CHURCH: BE

INVOLVED!
The Church has no choice but to take advantage of this digital Pentecost.
Blessed John Paul II declared in Ecclesial in Africa- the Post Synodal
Document on the Church in Africa, commenting on the use of the media
for evangelisation in Africa spoke with great urgency to the Church in
Africa that Today, the Church has at her disposal a variety of means of
social communication, traditional as well as modern. It is her duty to
make the best possible use of them in order to spread the message of
salvation.9

8 John Paul II, Message for the World Communications Day 1990, in LOsservatore
Romano and (Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, January 25, 1990) p. 6 cf. Gaudium et
Spes in Vatican II Documents edited by Austin Flannery, (Bangalore: Theological
Publications, 2010), no. 5
9 John Paul II, Ecclesia in Africa (Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana,1995) no 125

It is not enough to use the media simply to spread the Christian message
and the Churchs authentic teaching. It is also necessary to integrate or
incarnate that message into the new culture created by modern
communications with new languages, new techniques and a new
psychology.10 The creation of this new psychology rests on the active
presence of the Church on air and a thorough, systematic and methodical
process of liturgical and spiritual inculturation.
Furthermore, the Church must produce ministers and personnel who are
eager to expose her perspectives to the public at every occasion and on
every issue. In this digital age, silence is rarely golden. The digital media
on the one hand provides an immense amount of communication space
waiting to be filled up in most cases, to best effect, by the first client. 11
Practically, the Pentecostals have gotten this vibe faster than us and I
dare to say that they are challenging us speedily. Their use of the
innovations of the digital culture is magnificent- truth be told! We see
them and we must give them that kudos. Jokingly, many even make
distinctions between Catholic Microphones and Pentecostal Microphones
to indicate the undying interest of these our brethren in the pursuit and
use of technologies to enhance their Christian message. We may sit and
criticise their theologies, liturgies and methods but the reality is clear!
Their presence is felt in the society chiefly through the air. I have caught
many catholic families watching Emmanuel TV, Christ Embassy TV and
Winner TV and when I asked them why they just smiled but such
smiles are pregnant with meanings. We have to wake up!
Many priests, religious and lay persons have degrees in journalism, social
and pastoral communications, even PHDS, what are they doing? Again,
we claim that the government does not allow churches to own media
houses. The Pentecostals are churches too! Thanks be to God! The
internet does not need any governmental permission, the internet is not
10 John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio (Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1990), no. 37
11 Bishop Emmanuel Badejo, Stand up and be counted- The Church in Nigeria and the
Digital Age Today a keynote address in Golden Jubilee Colloquium of The Voice
Magazine, p. 18

limited to FM or Shortwave broadcast with the internet we can

broadcast our message in any format, text, and video, audio. 12 The
Church must be at the lead in these ventures.
Nevertheless, we cannot but recognise that the Church is on her feet
working. Bishop Badejo noted among other things in a lecture he gave us
in 2011 that there is a New Catholic Television Project which comes on
air in the New Year as a credible, contemporary Catholic Voice and many
priests and religious are studying social communications and other
innovations coming up! But the truth as he remarks again is that the
digital world does not provide anyone the luxury of complacency. The
Church must be dynamic in its thinking, planning and projects in the
sector if truly she must be counted! 13 Hence, the Church must produce
ministers and personnel who are eager to expose her perspectives to the
public at every occasion and on every issue. The digital media on the one
hand provides an immense amount of communication space waiting to be
filled up in most cases, to best effect, by the first client. 14
THE

ANALOG

SEMINARIAN

IN

DIGITAL

AGE:

AN

INCOMPATIBLE CHARADE
There is nothing as absurd as being an outcast in the society. Being an
outcast completely affirms the non-existence of an individual. That is the
case when an analog seminarian communicates in this digital age.
Seminarians and Pastoral agents must as a matter of necessity embrace
these new instruments of catechesis and evangelization. It is noticed that
many do not readily see the need for the incorporation of digitalization as
one of the communication channels of the Church. But it is an
indispensable tool in this age.
12 George Ehusani, Pastoral Ministry in a Digital Age: The Challenges of Optimal
Utilization of Modern ICT in the 21st Century in Golden Jubilee Colloquium of The
Voice Magazine, p. 43
13 Bishop Emmanuel Badejo, Stand up and be counted- The Church in Nigeria and the
Digital Age Today a keynote address in Golden Jubilee Colloquium of The Voice
Magazine, p. 19
14 Bishop Emmanuel Badejo, Stand up and be counted- The Church in Nigeria and the
Digital Age Today a keynote address in Golden Jubilee Colloquium of The Voice
Magazine, p.18

Blessed Pope John Paul II led the way for the Catholic participation in the
media when he launched the Vatican website, www.vatican.va which has
continued to be a blessing for the universal Church. Benedict XVI and
Pope Francis followed suit in that gesture of openness to the modern
world. And they have both shown tremendously that, this is a new path
for the Church as part of her response to the civilisation of her time.
They are both icons of digital evangelisation. In November, 2012,
Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, launched the papal official twitter account
@pontifex and upon his inauguration, Francis has continued with that
handle, just in a month of his stepping into office, his followers on Twitter
doubled that of Benedict XVI. Pope of them have been so acclaimed:
digital priests and have both set the standard and pace for us to follow
in our encounter of this new age using its own methods and instruments
of communication.
Furthermore, the recent applause and ovation given to Pope Francis by
TIMES MAGAZINE and the media is worthy of mention. The Vicar of
Christ, His Holiness, Pope Francis, the Leader of over 1.2 billion
Catholics was awarded with that title of the Man of the Year, 2013. The
Pope presence on the media has ensured that ovation and that applause,
beyond the ordinary title, shows that the Pope has continued to represent
truly what he stands for to the universe- as the Vicar of Christ.
More than ever, in the Western World just as it is here too, Bishops are
now on facebook, twitter and others engage the people of God in
interactive faith sessions. These are pathways to teach us that the digital
world should not scare us, rather we must get our hands on deck for
serious faith interactions on these social networks.
SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DIGITAL EVANGELISATION
Provide Training and Moral Formation: Because of the complexity of
digital culture and its instruments, there is need for adequate training in
the technical know-how, and how best to handle those equipment. There
is need for psychological training for those personnel who would be in
charge of social communications. They need to understand the dynamics
10

of the society and the art of effective communication. Furthermore, there

is a huge responsibility on the part of the Church to form these personnel
morally. They must therefore be morally and psychologically fit to handle
the running of social communications.
Define the Scope and need for Ethical formation
The Church must help the society discover the need for an ethics of the
media and technology. The Church must help people see those ways in
which these inventions can undermined individuals spirituality and
relationships.
Arouse interest among the faithful
The digital Pentecost must not only remain in and with the hierarchy of
the Church, otherwise it will be a dead process of communication.
Pastors of souls must evoke interest and commitment from the faithful.
Every doubt of insecurity and corruption must be cleared from the
faithfuls psyches. They must be so interested to get the best out of these
innovations.
Understand the rules and methods on media evangelisation
Finally, users of this new technology must understand perfectly the
guidelines and rules guiding the digital culture. Digital evangelisation
just like preaching a homily from the pulpit has norms and regulations
that guide the exercise. More importantly, there are some guidelines that
must be met and fulfilled to effectively communicate on the internet
particularly as it concerns an interactive faith exercise.
CONCLUSION
According to Rev. Fr. Dr. George Ehusani, the truth of the matter is this:
the success of the Churchs ministry in every age depends to a
reasonable extent on the ability and readiness of her agents to make
effective use of the forms and tools of communication available in the
particular age and environment.15 In this digital age, we cannot confine
15 George Ehusani, Pastoral Ministry in a Digital Age: The Challenges of Optimal
11

ourselves to the old, monologue methods alone, we must make a move

for the new globalisation without forgetting or altering the contents of
Christs message. Priests and pastoral workers, through the use of these
digital innovations and the media are poised better to reach a wider
audience even beyond their wildest imaginations. In that sense,
therefore, we are becoming Global ministers of the word and
sacraments16 which is primarily the mandate of Jesus Christ to reach the
ends of the earth.
Let me leave you with these questions to ponder: how many of us
seminarians are at home with these media technologies? How many of us
are abreast with the new ICT facilities for learning and teaching? How
many of us have web blogs, websites or online database where we can
share our reflections, ruminations and affect the lives of the people
positively? If seminarians of this age and epoch have not learnt and
applied ourselves to these things, then the apparent prophecy of Rev. Fr.
George Ehusani might be true that: we may just be here graduating
19th century priests for the 21st century society can I hear you say God
Forbid to that?

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Benedict XVI. Message for World Communication Day 2010. Priest and Pastoral
Agents in the Digital World. Vatican:
Libreria Editrice Vaticana, January 25, 1990.
Benedict XVI. New Technologies, New Relationships, Promoting a Culture of Respect,
Dialogue and Friendship. Vatican:
Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2009.
Flannery Austin. Vatican II Documents. Bangalore: Theological Publications, 2010.
Utilization of Modern ICT in the 21st Century in Golden Jubilee Colloquium of The
Voice Magazine, p.45
16 George Ehusani, Pastoral Ministry in a Digital Age: The Challenges of Optimal
Utilization of Modern ICT in the 21st Century in Golden Jubilee Colloquium of The
Voice Magazine, p. 46

12

John Paul II. Ecclesia in Africa. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995.
John Paul II. Message for the World Communications Day. LOsservatore Romano.
Vatican: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana, January 25, 1990.
John Paul II. Redemptoris Missio. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1990.
Ojiefo Emmanuel (Ed). Golden Jubilee Colloquium of The Voice Magazine. Ibadan:
Simplicity Touch, 2011.
Pastoral Instruction. Aetatis Novae- On Social Communications on the Twentieth
Anniversary of Communion et
Progression. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, February 1992.

PRESENTED AT THE NACATHS SYMPOSIUM HELD OF

17/01/2014

13